Bribie Cup: A Moreton Bay Classic Since 1952

The Bribie Cup is one of Moreton Bay's oldest and most enduring yacht races — a passage race run by the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club since 1952, sending a broad fleet from Shorncliffe across the northern bay to Bribie Island. More than seventy years on, it remains a fixture of the local calendar and a piece of living Moreton Bay sailing history.

What it is

The Bribie Cup is an annual passage race across the northern part of Moreton Bay. Unlike a windward-leeward regatta of short laps, it is a point-to-point run across open bay water, which rewards good navigation, sail selection and reading the breeze over a longer course. It caters for a wide fleet — up to four divisions in recent years, including a multihull division — with results scored under handicap so different boats compete fairly.

The course

The race starts off Shorncliffe, on the bay's north-western shore, then runs past Redcliffe Jetty and Scarborough Point into Deception Bay, finishing near the Bongaree Jetty on Bribie Island. It is a course that takes the fleet across a genuine stretch of northern Moreton Bay, part of the wider home-waters scene described in our guide to sailing in Brisbane and Moreton Bay.

History

The Bribie Cup commenced in 1952, beginning with a single monohull division. That makes it one of the longest continuously run races on the bay. Over the decades it has grown to as many as four divisions, adding multihulls and broadening the fleet, but it has kept its character as a classic bay passage race.

It is run by the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club, founded in 1948 at Shorncliffe. The club was established to organise the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race — first sailed at Easter 1949 — and also runs events such as the Surf to City Yacht Race, making the Bribie Cup part of a deep club racing tradition.

How to enter and follow

Entries and event information are published by the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club. Crews should read the Notice of Race for their division, confirm their handicap certificate, and enter before the deadline. As with most mixed-fleet races, the first boat home is not necessarily the winner — see line honours versus handicap — and the sailing terms glossary covers the language of the race documents.